Police Say The Uber Driver Who Was Arrested For Rape In India Was A Career Criminal

Policemen escort driver
Shiv Kumar Yadav (3rd R in black jacket) who is accused of a rape
outside a court in New Delhi December 8, 2014.REUTERS/Adnan Abidi

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - The Uber taxi driver held on suspicion of
raping a passenger in India is a career criminal who was out on
bail for sexually assaulting a woman, Indian police said, raising
fresh concerns about the safety of using the U.S. cab company.

Madhur Verma, a deputy commissioner with the Delhi police,
said Shiv Kumar Yadav, 32, has charges dating back more than
a decade. Yadav's offences include robbery, molestation and
possessing an unlicensed firearm.

Verma said on his Twitter page on Tuesday that Yadav was a "big
time rogue" in his home town of Mainpuri, in the poor and lawless
state of Uttar Pradesh in northern India. On Monday, Yadav was
remanded in custody for three days by a Delhi court.

The Indian government has requested that all state governments
ban Uber and all other unregistered, web-based taxi companies
from operating amid passenger safety concerns.

The case has triggered protests, questions in parliament and
reignited an angry debate about the safety of women in Asia's
third-largest economy, especially New Delhi, which is often
dubbed India's rape capital. Public outrage has been fueled
further by Uber acknowledging that it failed to carry out
background checks on the driver and that he was able to obtain a
forged character reference supposedly signed by a police officer.

A U.S.-based woman, Nidhi Shah, said on her Twitter page she had
lodged a complaint with Uber about the behavior of Yadav 10 days
before the attack took place.

She said in her complaint the driver constantly stared at her in
the rear-view mirror, making her uncomfortable during the
journey. Uber told her it would investigate the case.

India is the second-largest market after the United States for
Uber by number of cities covered. It operated in 11 cities in
India, including New Delhi, before the rape allegations.

The Uber service stopped working in the Indian capital on
Wednesday, two days after the state government banned it.

Uber sent a text message to drivers in the city promising to
pay all drivers by Friday."Uber is deeply shocked and saddened
this week," the message said. "Many of you have sent supportive
words and we are very grateful."